[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5377-5378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02922]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 170828822-70999-04]
RIN 0648-XG796


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is 
transferring a portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to 
the State of New Jersey. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply 
with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 
Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of 
the revised commercial quotas for North Carolina and New Jersey.

DATES: Effective February 20, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.110. These regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
among the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The process 
to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each 
state is described in Sec.  648.102, and the initial 2019 allocations 
were published on December 17, 2018 (83 FR 64482).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder 
Fishery Management Plan, as published in the Federal Register on 
December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for transferring 
summer flounder commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more 
states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS 
Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, can transfer or combine summer 
flounder

[[Page 5378]]

commercial quota under Sec.  648.102(c)(2). The Regional Administrator 
is required to consider the criteria in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i)(A) 
through (C) in the evaluation of requests for quota transfers or 
combinations.
    North Carolina is transferring 3,270 lb (1,483 kg) of summer 
flounder commercial quota to New Jersey through mutual agreement of the 
states. This transfer was requested to repay landings made by a North 
Carolina-permitted vessel in New Jersey under a safe harbor agreement. 
Based on the initial quotas published in the 2019 Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications, the revised summer flounder 
quotas for fishing year 2019 are now: North Carolina, 1,827,368 lb 
(828,880 kg); and New Jersey, 1,118,827 lb (507,491 kg).

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: February 15, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-02922 Filed 2-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P